EditA Shining Light of Civilization and Order- Tone: A once promising upstart civilization that is crumbling from within.
- Timeframe: -25 years to Present
- Artifice: Standard overall; mastery of steel verges into High but is limited in production capacity.
- Region: Civizia
- Capital: Olizandria (~8,500)
- Notable Settlements: Atris (~9,500), Wandamere (~3,250), Varziria (~3,000)
- Government: Theocracy/Timocracy - the Kuris (a convening body of senior clergy not limited to one city-state) cast votes on civil and military matters; however in each city-state an elected Lord General deals with most of the day to day secular matters and security.
- Ruler: Officially the Shepherd of Olizandria (high priest of the Solon faith in Solonia); in reality the Kuris, and for practical purposes the elected Lord Generals of Solonia and their bureaucratic staffs.
- Races: Humans (~23,000)
- Languages: Civizian (primary language); Kurio (used exclusively by clergy as the language of scriptural text and sermons; the teaching of it is closely guarded).
- Religions: The Faith of Solon is the exclusive state religion
- Coinage: Solonia does not mint it's own currency as they find it impractical. Any currency brought to the city is treated by weight, and the majority of trade with the barbarian tribes is handled by barter.
EditSynopsisSolonia is a collection of city-states dedicated to the Faith of Solonia that successfully seceded from Calamshar within the last 25 years after a series of quiet coups-from-within in individual communities in the southeastern fringe of Calamshar. Under the ineffectual rule of the current Calamshar dynasty this pernicious nibbling was allowed to occur without much of an Imperial response after early military solutions failed in the face of the powerful faith of the Solonians. Calamshar does not recognize Solonia as a sovereign power and still shows Solonia as its own territory on Imperial maps, but no Imperial governance is to be found there in fact.
A theocracy built by the fanatically devoted adherents of an upstart god, each city-state is named after the Shepherd (high priest) that founded it (actually, in all cases except Varziria, converted a pre-existing settlement). The Solonians are very missionary and expansionary in their outlook; thus historically once a city-state reached sufficient size to support itself, a group of volunteer colonists and soldiers would be formed into a new missionary group lead by a newly frocked Shepard who would lead the mission to a new area and spread the Word of Solon. Most such missions ended tragically and many missionaries become martyrs to the Faith, but a few took root and prospered and thus Solon stands in its current state today.
The clergy controls nearly all aspects of day to day life in Solonia. The entire population of Solonia is a member of the Faith, at least publicly. Outsiders that convert are accepted as citizens, non believers are not accepted and prejudice is extreme. No other religions are tolerated, and obvious representatives of other faiths are actively persecuted. Everything in Solonian life is a testament or article of faith, from farming to cleaning. All judiciary decisions are handled by the Lord General's staff, but appeals to the clergy are allowed up to three levels up to the Shepherd of the city himself.
The Solonian military machine is co-ordinated, efficient, well-equipped and very well trained.EditMagicSolonia was once supported by powerful Ecclesiastics of both a clerical and militant bent. However, due to recent events described below that is no longer true. No other form of magic use is tolerated in Solonia
The ultimate goal of the Faith of Solon is to bring order and civilization to the world, from the perspective of strict adherence to the Faith of Solon. The oft-repeated Litany of Solon is simple:
There is but one true God, and his name is Solon. We exist to serve Solon. We are the instrument of Solon on this good earth. The bright light of Solon's might will destroy all false Gods. We will follow Solon's divine example.
However, unfortunately for the Solonians, Solon was recently destroyed by the combined effort other gods who did not appreciate "his" assaults upon them and their faiths. The Ecclesiastics of Solon no longer benefit from the support of their patron, and prayers to Solon go unanswered. The truth of Solon's destruction is unknown but suspected by the Kuris, but questions are beginning to arise among the faithful as the clergy has lost the divine powers it once had. The power of the Faith of Solon is currently strictly temporal.
EditAdventure Seeds
Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures: Desperate to maintain their grip on power some or all of the Kuris might turn to the worship of a new power and thus seek to subvert the religion and the theocracy from within.
Humans
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